M10:44
对，他这里有个假设，就是认为 Sokol 是下一个接班人，这一点我不确定是不是站得住脚，不过他当然有理由认为 Sokol 是候选人之一。
Yeah, he made an assumption there about Sokol being the next in line, which I'm not sure was warranted, but he certainly was entitled to think that he was a candidate.
还有，这也是我认为一个好主意的原因之一，就是等我不在了以后，让我儿子 Howard Buffett 来当董事长——他不会拿任何报酬，也不会参与公司的具体经营活动——因为在选择 CEO 这件事上，你是可能犯错的。
And there are—that is one of the reasons that I think it's a good idea if my son Howard Buffett, who would get paid nothing and have no activities in the company, be the chairman after I'm not around, because you can make a mistake in selecting a CEO.
我的意思是，确实会犯错。
I mean, it did.
你知道，我觉得我们犯错的概率非常非常低。
You know, I think the odds of us making a mistake are very, very low.
当然了，就我现在认为最领先的那个候选人来说，我愿意下很大赌注，赌他是个非常正直的人。
Certainly the candidate that I think is the leading candidate now, you know, I would lay a lot of money on the fact that he is straight as an arrow.
但错误还是可能发生。
But mistakes can be made.
你知道，Bible 里说，温顺的人将继承大地。
You know, the Bible says, the meek shall inherit the earth.
但问题是，他们会不会一直保持温顺呢？
But the question is, will they stay meek?
你知道，设立一个独立董事长的想法——而且这个人会代表很多股份来投票——因为即使在我去世以后，由于 A 股持股很集中等等，遗产执行人手里也会有一大块非常可观的股份。
You know, the—and the idea of having an independent chairman who would be voting a lot of stock, because even at my death, because of the concentration of A stock and so on, the executors would have a very significant block of stock.
如果真的选错了人，那要纠正起来就会更容易一些，因为不仅会有一大块股份可以明确表达意见，而且董事长这个职位也不会和 CEO 绑死在一起。
And if some mistake were made, it would be easier to change if not only a very large block of stock were available to express an opinion, but also if the chairmanship was not locked in with the CEO.
现在，在那些发现 CEO 无论是道德品质还是智识能力有所欠缺的公司里，更换 CEO 已经没有以前那么难了，但还是很困难。
It's gotten less tough to change CEOs at companies where either their moral or their intellectual qualities are found lacking, but it's still difficult.
你知道，尤其当这个人最后证明自己只是个平庸的 CEO 时，这就特别难。
If, you know, it's particularly difficult if they turn out to be a mediocre CEO.
如果这个人真的很糟糕，有时候大家还是会起来反对，尤其是在他们开会时 CEO 不在场的情况下，但要把一个现任 CEO 换下来并不是件容易的事，特别是当他还兼任董事长的时候。
If the person's really bad, you know, people will rise up sometimes, and particularly if they have meetings without the CEO present, but it's not an easy job to displace a sitting CEO who also holds the chairman's position.
他既占着这个职位，又控制着议程以及诸如此类的一切。
Position and controls the agenda and all of that.
所以我认为，一个独立董事长，尤其是那种代表着非常大一块股份、而且自己又没有打算接管公司的人，就是一种安全措施，用来防范那种虽然可能性很低、但仍然存在的错误决定。
So I think an independent chairman, particularly one that represents a very large block of stock and has no designs himself on taking over the place, is a safety measure for the possibility, however remote, that the wrong decision is made.
不过我要告诉你，Berkshire 的董事们在考虑接班人时，对这个人作为一个“人”的品质，重视程度绝不会低于他们对其管理能力的考量。
But I will tell you that the directors of Berkshire will be thinking every bit as much about the quality of the person as a human being as they will be thinking about their managerial skills.
因为在我看来，Berkshire 至关重要的一点是，你得有一个真正掌管公司的人，他对 Berkshire 的在乎程度，必须超过他对自己个人升迁发展的在乎。
Because it's vital that you have somebody at Berkshire, in my view, that is running the place that really cares more about Berkshire than he does about himself in terms of advancement.
而我认为，我们有不止一位候选人符合这一点。
And I think we have multiple candidates that fulfill that.
而设立独立董事长这个想法，算是一个双保险的一部分。
And the idea of an independent chairmanship is a, is, you know, part of the belt and suspenders.
Charlie？
Charlie?
嗯，你知道，你这个关于 Buffett 家族的想法，其实是有先例的。
Well, you know, your idea about the Buffett family has a precedent.
Rockefeller 家族早在很多很多十年前，就已经离开了 Standard Oil 的管理层。
The Rockefellers left the management of Standard Oil many, many decades ago.
但是——他们后来确实干预过一次，那一次是把——是谁来着——Standard of Indiana 的负责人赶了出去，而且理由是道德问题。
And they—but they did intervene once, and that was to throw out—what was it—the head of Standard of Indiana, and it was on moral grounds.
所以这种事是可能发生的，而你又给我们的弓上多加了一根弦。
So that sort of thing can happen, and you have put another string in our bow.